Lotte Mart’s Voluntary Recall of Fruit/Vegetable Washing Detergent

- Fluorescence Brightening Agent Adulterated in the Production -

    Lotte Mart will soon begin to recall Prime L Canada 23.4˚ Fruit&Vegetable Wash (produced in January 2016) which the company has imported and distributed, as a prohibited substance “fluorescence brightening agent (FBA)” was detected.

    The product is categorised as detergent of the first kind which is for cleansing raw food, and thus bleaching substances including the FBA are prohibited* to be added therein.

* Ministry of Health and Welfare‘s announcement 2014-201, 'Standards and Specifications of Hygienic Goods'

    Having identified the issue during the quality inspection process of the detergent, Lotte Mart reported it to the Korea Consumer Agency (www.kca.go.kr).

    The KCA double-checked the issue and concluded that the product contains the FBA. However, as observed with the naked eye, the substance did not remain on the food after being washed for 30 seconds.

    Nevertheless, the consumer agency recommended that Lotte Mart should inform consumers of the fact and recall the product from the market, because it cannot be ruled out that the brightener possibly remains on food according to the conditions of using the detergent.

    As such, Lotte Mart accepted the recommendation and decided to actively recall the detergent which have already been released in the market and also to give a full refund to the consumers who bought the product. Those who are using the detergent can visit nearby customer satisfaction centres of the franchise mart and get refund.

    ■ Recall and Refund

     □ The KCA has requested Lotte Mart to take swift corrective actions such as recalling the detergent which contains a substance prohibited by the laws, in order to eliminate illegal issues and to prevent potential consumer damage.

    □ The distributer has submitted its future plans that include product recall and corrective action measures for the product already sold.

      ○ (Product Recall) Lotte Mart has decided to actively recall the products that were sold between 25 February 2016 and 28 September 2016 by directly contacting the individual purchasers (L Point members.)

      ○ (Sign Attachment) Lotte Mart will attach voluntary product recall signs on the bulletin boards of both online and offline malls.